(BLOOMINGTON) - This week, the City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) begins the South Central Interceptor Sewer, a $6.9 million project to improve the aging sewer infrastructure located along South Walnut Street from Davis Street to Gordon Pike.

The majority of the work will take place in the future Switchyard Park property and should be completed by December when park construction is scheduled to begin. The sewer project in its entirety should be completed by August 2018.

Greeley & Hansen designed the new sewer, and Infrastructure System of Orleans, IN is leading the construction. Infrastructure System started mobilization of their team on Wednesday by clearing debris and installing erosion control measures at the north side of the former CSX property. Rock blasting for trench excavation is scheduled on July 1 and pipe installation is set to begin around July 5.

Although CBU works diligently so its projects disrupt the public as little as possible, there will be inconveniences during construction. The Parks & Recreation parking lot located at Grimes Lane has been temporarily closed for construction staging. Beginning June 30th, the B-Line trail will be temporarily rerouted near Country Club Drive (see map) for 6-12 months. The detour will be approximately 2,600 feet in length and will parallel the existing trail to the west. The temporary path will be paved like the current B-Line, but there will not be lighting.

"The infrastructure upgrades to the South Central Interceptor are part of ongoing infrastructure improvements and will alleviate service issues we have experienced in the area," said CBU Director Vic Kelson. "This is critical infrastructure to support Switchyard Park and the increase in commerce we expect along this corridor in the coming years."

All of the homes and businesses in central Bloomington south of 11th Street discharge to this interceptor, which carries wastewater to the Dillman Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Bloomington's older sanitary sewers, some of which date as far back as 1910, primarily consist of clay pipe. When the ground is saturated with water, the joints in these older clay pipes are not sufficiently watertight to prevent the infiltration of stormwater and an overflow can occur. Sanitary sewer overflows have been problematic in this area; there were 83 overflows at the intersection of Grimes Lane and South Walnut Street from 2006-2016.

For more information, visit bloomington.in.gov/utilities or find City of Bloomington Utilities on Facebook.